Aligning device



W. F. DAVIS ET AL ALIGNING DEVICE Oct. 22, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 5, 1966 F l G. 3

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United States Patent 3,406,965 ALIGNING DEVICE Wilbern F. Davis, Sharon, Earl E. Masterson, Newtonville, and Frank H. Schaller, Needham Heights, Mass.,

assignors to Honeywell Inc., Minneapolis, Minn., a corporation of Delaware Filed May 5, 1966, Ser. No. 547,877 11 Claims. (Cl. 271-62) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A weight, such as for gravity-urging a stack of punched cards down into proper registry with a card-picker, where, in a prime embodiment, the weight is characterized by a cuneiform profile including a contact-plate resiliently mounted from a reference body to engage the top of the card stack yieldingly.

The present invention relates to document-directing devices, such as may be employed as aids in controlling the injection of punched cards successively into card handling machines. More particularly, the invention relates to improved card weight devices adapted to resiliently engage a document stack and absorb vibrations thereof, while maintaining a prescribed alignment thereof, also being adapted to present an improved external configuration to better engage documents and allow safer, more reliable handling thereof.

In data processing systems and the like, it is customarily required to read, record upon, sort, transport and otherwise manipulate unit-record documents, such as punched cards. It is also common to provide, for such documenthandling, machines which include input-hoppers from which individual documents in an input stack may be gravity-fed to a picker. Workers in this art are quite familiar with such arrangements and will recognize the exemplary arrangement in FIGURE 5 wherein a very generally indicated document handling machine M is shown as including an input hopper H with a siderail SR and a picking station at the end of hopper H, adjacent pieker P. An input stack of punched cards ST is shown as being gravity-fed (along direction IN) toward picker P, while being urged theretoward by a generally-indicated exemplary card weight CW. This card weight CW may, of course, be of any construction, but for purposes of clarity it has been indicated as including a projecting contact plate portion CW-P similar to the embodiment of FIGURE 2 (described below). Other such machines and their associated analogous hoppers, pickers, etc. will be seen in US. Patents Nos. 2,616,561 to Luhn and 3,276,775 to Masterson. Document pickers characteristically reciprocate very rapidly to thrust each document successively from the stack in the input hopper. Such picking has heretofore presented certain serious problems in maintaining an accurate, uniform, controlled feeding of documents; for instance, because the high-frequency, violent feeding thrusts of the picker knives (or rolls, etc.) will often jog the stack of documents, thrusting it both backward and upward, out of the reference picking position, most commonly misaligning the foremost document out of this position. While these forces may have a relatively minor effect upon a long, heavy stack, they can badly displace and misalign documents as the stack becomes small and light, leading to mis-picks, card jams and similar feeding irregularities, as workers in the art will attest. Such vibration-induced misfeeding is becoming increasingly problematical with todays increasing demands for faster data handling, and consequent document-feeding, speeds. Workers in the art have characteristically tried to meet this problem by modifying the card weight 3,496,965 Patented Oct. 22, 1968 W JCe devices commonly employed to depress the stack of documents, proposing changes which attempt to counter and suppress this jogging action, especially for small stacks. Card weights of themselves, of course, provide an increase in minimum inertia which loads down the card stack and help to reduce, somewhat, misaligning displacement caused by the jogging pickers. Card weights can also act to straighten and align cards into the reference picking position, acting to counter card-bow" and the like. One difiiculty associated with prior art weights, however, is that they are somewhat clumsy to handle, are difiicult to store and are relatively easily damaged. The present invention provides an improved resilient wedge-shaped card weight which alleviates these difliculties, providing improved controlled card feeding. In addition, this improved weight provides a ruggedized structure that is quite simple and durable, yet is better able to direct stacked cards and, besides, is aesthetically pleasing. The wedge-shaped weight advantageously increases the inertial moment against upper card edges, acting to resist card-pivoting by applying a spring coupled damping load which is intensified along these upper edges Where it is most needed and thus can better oppose picker jogging by a counter-pivoting reaction of the weight itself.

Related to the problem of card misalignment by picker jogging is this problem of the pivoting card. That is, the aforementioned jogging motions tend to induce cards adj acent the picker to fall out of the picking plane, pivoting about their base, i.e. lower or leading, edge. It will be understood that since the base edge of the card is supported by the hopper base, the opposite top, or trailing, edge, being unsupported, is free to pivot backward away from the picker. Such back-pivoting of cards causes misalignment problems in present day pickers. Consequently, it is highly advantageous for a card weight to stabilize these top edges by intensified depressing of them while urging them towards the picker. This the invention does.

A superior card weight should also urge cards down- Wardly to keep the base edges in alignment against the reference hopper base. Preferably these forces will be applied by resilient means so that the card weight can absorbingly oppose upward and backward misaligning impulses. Workers in the art have attempted to provide such improved functions for card weights, such as by providing spring means thereon, but to date, have still failed to provide accurate, uninterrupted gravity-feed which is satisfactorily reliable. Prior art structures have been somewhat crude, failing to provide all the necessary aligning forces and moreover often present an unnecessarily complex structure, causing problems of themselves. It is an object of the present invention to overcome these prior art drawbacks and provide an improved card weight structure automatically urging cards downwardly and pivoting them inwardly against a picking station, as well as to effect this using structure that does not, of itself, create handling problems.

More particularly, some prior art devices have attempted solving the aforementioned problems by providing card weights with crude spring structures which project out, some in cantilever fashion, to engage the document stack. Such projecting-spring structures obviously present a hazard in themselves, being apt to damage delicate paper documents and to interfere with adjacent machine parts. Worse, they can injure operators, cutting hands, etc. Such out-thrust springs are also a danger to themselves, inviting engagements which twist, snag and similarly distort them, leading to their early rupture. The present invention provides resilient card weight means presenting none of these disadvantages or dangers.

Workers in the art will acknowledge that, besides providing the above-mentioned weighting and alignment functions, card weights can also advantageously serve as separators (dividers) in a card stack, being interposed between different groups of cards; sometimes also being allowed to run against the picking means for automatic interruption thereof. More particularly, a card weight may be used as an automatic indicator of the last-card-fed, also blocking the accidental feeding of any further cards until desired. Also, an operator will commonly toss a second stack of cards into a hopper to fall behind the stack already there, leaving a card weight between the two, to be thereafter extracted and placed behind the uppermost card. Thus, operators must commonly insert a card weight between stacked cards, or extract it therefrom, frequently trying to do so with one hand.1The wedge-shape weight provided by the invention to resist card-pivoting, as above, also facilitates such insertions and withdrawals with convenience-even with onehanded manipulation. The present invention, thus, provides a wedge-shaped card weight apt for convenient insertion between stacked cards and extraction therefrom. The invention, further, provides resilient card-contacting means, adapting it however to conform to this wed-geshaped profile.

It is, therefore, a general object of this invention to obviate the above difficulties and provide the above features and advantages. Another object is to provide an improved oard weight adapted to urge stacked cards into proper alignment and especially to counter misaligning joggings, such as from card-picker means.

A further object is to provide such a card weight including resilient stack-contacting means which will constitute no hazard, either to itself or to adjacent members.

Yet another object is to provide such a weight having a wedge-shaped profile to provide an improved aligning engagement against stacks of documents, improved weight distribution thereagainst, and improved insertability into such stacks.

Other objects and features of advantage according to the invention will be pointed out in the preferred embodiment of following description and the following claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the invention and will enable those skilled in the art to practice it.

One embodiment of the present invention, expressing the above-mentioned features and advantages, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, comprises a relatively wedge-shaped card weight body having a major portion of the mass thereof disposed relatively toward the top thereof and having spring flexure means arranged to be resiliently thrust against the upper portions of a document stack.

In the drawings, wherein like reference numerals denote like parts:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevation of a card weight structure according to the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view along line 22 through the structure of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a front perspective view of the arrangement in FIGURE 1, a portion thereof being exploded away, pivotingly; and

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of a modified embodiment of the invention; and

FIGURE 5 is a very schematic, fragmentary showing of a typical card handling machine including an input hopper-picker arrangement to illustrate a conventional environment for card weights of the type described.

FIGURES 1 through 3 broadly illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention comprising a generally wedge-shaped, or cuneiform, card weight 1 adapted to resiliently load a stack of cards to provide the advantages and features mentioned above. For instance, weight 1 might be applied against the elevated end of a stack of punched cards in the input hopper of a card handling machine (not shown) to gravity-urge the cards into prescribed alignment against a picker means operativcly disposed atthe lower end of the hopper. Weight 1 will also provide a stack divider when additional cards are added. Such card handling means and employment of card weights therewith are well-known in the art.

Card weight 1 structurally comprises a body portion 10, having a handle member 2 and a contact plate 3, pivotably connected along the bottom portion of body 10, being urged pivotingly away therefrom by a pair of connector assemblies 5, 5. Assemblies 5, 5 comprise fiexures 7, 7 respectively and, coupled thereto, respectively, brackets 51, 51. As best seen in FIGURE 2, body 10 has a cuneiform, or wedge-shaped, cross sectional profile, as does weight 1 overall, even when plate 3 is attached thereto. Thus, body10 has a relatively thin lower portion terminating at base 12 and diverges upwardly to a considerably thicker top portion 14. Handle 2 is secured on top 14. Body 10 is arranged to have a length approximating that of expected cards to be handled. This length may be modified to correspond to different card lengths by providing body 10 with a pair of side projections, or wings, 3', such as in the alternate embodiment indicated in phantom in FIGURE 1. Body 10 may be either replaceable with such an extended embodiment or adapted to include extensible projections (wings) adapted to be selectively extended to correspond to greater card lengths. For example, if card weight 1 is designed for use with 51-column cards, it may thus be modified for use with the longer -column cards as well by providing inwardly folded wings (like 3') thereon. In any case, the side edges of body 10 (see 15, 17) serve to center and align plate 3 against particular length cards, slidingly engaging a reference hopper edge for this purpose. Thus, plate 3 will have a shorter length than the body (per FIGURE 1) and be centered inboard thereof, so as not to drag against such hopper edges, but be freely collapsible. Body 10, as well as plate 3 and handle 2, preferably comprise a plastic, or similar non-metallic, material to minimize the risk of damaging contact with adjacent machine elements. In such a case, body 10 is centrally relieved on one side, at recess 20, so as to receive a heavy metal ballast plate 4, secured therein (e.g. with screws 23). Ballast plate 4 advantageously increases the overall stack-loading mass of weight 1 and is positioned in recess 20 so as to increase the inertial pivoting moment of the weight and raise it, that is, increase the force (arrow F urging top card edges pivotingly back toward the picker station. Ballast 4 is deleted from FIGURE 2 for clarity, its intended position being indicated there by numeral 4.

Contact plate 3 is coupled pivotably adjacent to the base 12 of body 10 by attachment, such as with hex nuts 9 through flexing portions 7, 7' of connector assemblies 5, 5' to canted flat 11. Flexing portions 7, 7' preferably comprise flexure strips adapted to urge plate 3 at a rest position somewhat coplanar along fiat 11 and diverging from the card-engaging side of body 10 a prescribed angle aa. Strips 7, 7' along with brackets 51, 51' are thus secured, such as with screws 8, along the beveled plane of fiat 11 to normally extend coplanar therewith. Flats 11 are preferably beveled inwardly, towards base 12 at divergence angle aa so that connector means 5, 5', and contact plate 3 attached thereto, will normally be urged away from top 14 and define a prescribed unloaded gap G (phantom) and a prescribed loaded gap G, indicated (full line) in FIGURE 2. Loaded gap G constitutes the static gap existing when weight 1 is depressing a card stack and experiencing no dynamic back-thrust therefrom (e.g. due to picker jogging). Unloaded gap G (dotted line) comprises the unloaded gap, analogous to angle aa existing when none of the mass of weight 1 is applied to flex springs 7, 7, e.g. when weight 1 rests along back surface 10. Gaps G, G are not drawn to scale but may comprise about and A inch respectivelyfor a weight I of about one lb.

Body includes a flat beveled back surface 10' adjacent top 14. On each side of body 10 a pair of side flanges 15, 17 are provided, being interrupted by a cutout 16 to allow visual observation of cards engaged under the weight. If desired, plate 3 may be registeringly so relieved (e.g. at 40 in phantom) though this is not shown. Cutouts 30 in wings 3' serve the same viewing purpose. Plate 3 includes a pair of notches 25, 25 along the base thereof adapted to provide access to screws 8 which join flexures 7, 7' and attached plate 3 to body 10. It will be evident that plate 3 protects connector assemblies 5, 5', and especially flexure portions 7, 7 thereof, from damaging contact with machine elements, such as the picker knives as well as from injuring elements (and operators) themselves.

Thus, it will be evident that connectors 5, 5 preferably comprise flexure strips 7, 7 afiixed to brackets 51, 51', respectively, including hookends 50, 50, though unitary flexure-brackets might be used instead. Flexures 7, 7' comprise relatively wide strips of spring steel, or the like, and the flexing thereof is limited by hookends 50, 50' respectively, so as to establish a maximum unloaded gap G of prescribed dimension. Curved ends 50, 50' thus constitute the top ends of brackets 51, 51, being fashioned to diverge relatively orthogonal thereto and project into relatively deep associated cutouts 22, 22' respectively, in body 10. Cutouts 22, 22 are adapted to receive the hookends when gap G is closed (FIGURE 2). Cutouts 22, 22' may communicate with aforementioned ballast cutout 20, The slots in ends 50, 50' are arranged to be engaged with a pair of stop means 6, 6 (6 not shown) projected from body 10 into cutouts 22, 22' respectively, and threaded through these slots so as to limit the pivoting of plate 3 the prescribed amount (gap G) as aforesaid. Thus, when flexures 7, 7' urge plate 3 away from body top 14 the maximum amount, gap G may be established by the length of these slots and the position of stops 6, 6'. Brackets 51, 51 thus may comprise any rigid material adapted to support plate 3 to be pivotably coupled to body 10 and to be limited in pivoting divergence therefrom.

The spring force of flexures 7, 7' is arranged to provide adequate resilient compressive force against the card stacks in prescribed hopper arrangements (e.g. hopper tilt effects thrust of weight against stack) to provide a prescribed loaded gap G and prescribed damping action. For instance, the spring constant and spacing G should be suflicient so that, with card weight 1 loading a stack of cards in a picker hopper, the resilient forces presented thereby will absorb most of the vibration and shock imparted to the stack and also urge the foremost stack-document into a prescribed picking position. It is important thatthe springs 7, 7', themselves, absorb much of the stack bounce, rather than transmitting it directly to body 10, so that the card weight is thus able to follow the stack in constant positive contact, minimizing bounce and the like.

' The flexure means 7, 7' shown might be characterized as looped, i.e., projecting from the body of the weight loop-like, adapted to assume wedge-shaped cross-sectional profile and extending continuously from the body, that is, with both ends attached thereto and having no free projecting ends. It will be noted that the attachment of the flexures along the beveled portion 11 of body 10 projects them along a common prescribed plane diverging from top edge 14 so as to establish the prescribed unloaded gap G. Thus, even though the upper ends of the flexures are curved back to body 10 and secured adjacent the top 14 thereof, the lower portions of the looped flexures (along which plate 3 is attached) conform to the desired wedge-shaped profile, as aforementioned. This wedgeshape might otherwise be characterized as providing a device which is relatively top-heavy, being relatively thin at the base and having a cross-section which is divergent upwardly, toward its thicker upper portions. In certain cases it will be recognized that other equivalent spring means may replace the flexures for biasing contact plate 3 as described. It will similarly be recognized that since card weight 1 must exhibit a prescribed mass and, in turn, be arranged to assert a prescribed counter-pivoting torque (arrow F against the card stack that when a plastic material is used, means other than ballast plate 4 might be used to weight it. For instance, a heavier filled plastic could provide such prescribed weighting.

It will be noted, in FIGURE 1 for instance, that the lateral edges of body 10, that is, upper and lower flanges 1-5, 17, respectively, extend somewhat beyond the corresponding lateral edges of plate 3. It will be recognized that this is provided to allow one of these flanges 15, 17 to slide draggingly along the side of an input hopper to be aligned thereby and also to smooth the downward slipping of weight 1 as the stack decreases. However, the sides of plate 3 are inset slightly to avoid such contact and thus be freely collapsible inwardly against body 10. In such a case, weight 1 may be characterized as being internally biased to be collapsible upon itself.

Therefore, card weight 1 as described effectively constitutes a depressing load structure arranged to be pivotably collapsible upon itself against an internal spring bias. This is exhibited by the reaction of contact plate 3 as it bears against the uppermost card in a stack, depressing it and urging the top edge thereof downward and pivotingly about its base edge. That is, when the card stack is oscillated about its longitudinal (feeding) axis (being jogged by the picker, etc.), much of the oscillating force (and displacement) is absorbed by flexures 7, 7', acting to reduce gap G and allowing plate 3 to pivot toward body 10 momentarily, the flexures, acting against the weight of body 10 absorbing much of this impulse. In this manner, the spring coupled inertial load of weight 1 will suppress jogging motions and minimize misalignment of cards adjacent the picker, thus assuring improved card alignment and more positive, jam-free card feeding. More particularly, when a document approaches the picker knives and is jogged by them, these impulses will urge flexures 7, 7' back, thrusting pivotingly against the moment of body 10 (arrow P The reaction of flexures 7, 7' opposes the pivoting of the top card edge about its base edge and also urges the base edge down against the hopper base, toward the injection throat. In this way, card bounce and resultant misalignment is minimized by the cuneiform arrangement of the improved card weight 1, tending to apply more torque, resiliently, against the top card edges in a. compound re-aligning counter-pivoting thrust. This tends to keep the cards at the picking position, or at least return them there before the next pick cycle. This reference picking position (or card-injection plane) will be understood as analogous to the plane defined by the card throat and the thrusting picker surface (knife edges).

In summary, the operation of the card weight 1 provides a damping counter-balance to card-bounce and like action, and the flexure pivots thereof serve to maintain a depressing engagement with the stack while still allowing oscillating reaction of the card weight. This provides a depressing thrust of the card tops toward the injection throat; and also resiliently counter pivots them for proper engagement of foremost cards with the picker knives. Quite unexpectedly, the improved weight also allows simplification of card picker mechanisms. That is, by providing greater toleration to card bounce, the improved weight tolerates the use of flexible pickers which can engage cards along one or more somewhat curved picking paths (e.g. to accommodate different bowing). Such pickers may advantageously comprise a single pivoted crank arrangement, as opposed to the more complex flat-plane picker arrangements heretofore preferred.

As indicated for the alternate weight structure 1A in FIGURE 4, in certain cases, [much of these aligning functions may be performed by flexure means themselves,

. 7 such as fiexures 7A, 7A, modified somewhat from fiexure strips 7, 7' aforedescribed. Here plate 3 is removed and flexures 7A, 7A, alone, are projected from the wedgeshaped body 10A of weight 1A, body 10A having a relatively thick top portion 14A and a somewhat thinner base portion 12A. Flexures 7A, 7A comprise resilient strips looped outward from body 10A and, especially when loaded against a stack, will conform somewhat to the wedge-shaped profile of body 10A. Flexures 7A, 7A are thus adapted to contact the document stack of themselves and may comprise strips of any suitable resilient spring material, for instance, strips of spring steel as with fiexures 7, 7' or, preferably, thin strips of plastic material, such as a polyester film (e.g. a polyethylene terephthalate like Mylar by Du Pont) or a like plastic. In any case, both ends of the .flexure loops 7A, 7A are secured to the body 10A in a top-to-bottom, symmetrical manner so as to provide resilient loop springs. Loops 7A, 7A will be disposed to avoid interfering machine elements, such as the oscillating picker knives. In base 12A there is preferably provided a cutout 21A to accommodate projecting switch means commonly mounted adjacent a picker station.

As compared with the embodiment 1 (FIGURES 1-3), card weight 1A, of course, presents no contacting plate (see 3) along a relatively large card-contact area, but contacts the stack only at two points, essentially. In certain cases, this may be advantageous, such as when it is desired to contact cards with different lateral spring thrusts across their width, e.g. to conform to card bow, etc. When flexures 7A, 7A are made of light material, such as Mylar, they will also be seen to present a very light spring force and be more sensitive to small forces. Embodiment 1A is obviously simpler and cheaper as well. However, provision of contact plate 3 may be preferable in certain instances. For instance, plate 3 provides more uniform distribution of contact pressure, engaging cards planarly, is more rigid and also serves to protect flexures from any damaging contact with machine members as well as from interference with, or damage by, human attendants. The contact plate also prevents machine elements, attendants hands and the like from being harmed by the flenures themselves, especially when they present thin, sharp, steel edges.

What is claimed is:

1. A combined weighting and shock-absorbing device for application, along a contact surface thereof, against a stack of documents in a hopper, the hopper being arranged to gravity-urge said documents towards an associated selection means, said device comprising in combination:

a cuneiform-profiled weight structure having a relatively thick top portion and a downwardly converging thickness, culminating in a relatively narrow base portion; and resilient contact means attached to a stack-confronting surface of said structure so as to provide a continuous planar stack-engaging surface projecting divergingly outward a prescribed stoplimited distance from said strccture adjacent said top portion, in conformance with said cuneiform profile;

' said contact means including spring bias means for coupling thereof to the inertial moment of said structure resiliently and pivotingly, so that said contact means is adapted to resiliently counter-thrust upper portions of said documents and is resiliently collapsible against said spring means, to thereby absorb and oppose misalignment forces .urging said upper document portions away from said selection means and pivotingly about their respective base portions.

2. The combination as recited in claim 1 wherein said contact means includes contact plate means pivotably mounted from adjacent said base portion of said structure; and spring means coupling said plate means resilient- Iy to said structure so as to normally urge said plate means plvotably away from said top portion a prescribed, yet

. 8 limited, gap spacing, said contact plate means. thus conforming to said overall cuneiform profile.

3. The combination as recited in claim 2 wherein said spring means comprises a pair of spring metal fiexure strips attached at one end thereof to said structure adjacent said base portion andlooped for attachment at the other end thereof upward of said base portion, said strips being thus so attached to said structure and said plate means as to cause said plate means to normally assume this upwardly diverging relation therewith and said spacing; and limit means coupling said plate means to said structure so that said spacing may not be exceeded whereby said plate means may be moved only closer'to said structure, against said strips.

4. The combination as recited in claim 3 wherein said structure has a prescribed length approximating that of expected cards and includes a beveled surface adjacent said base-edge defining a prescribed angle such that when said strips, carrying said plate means, are attached thereon, they will compel plate to assume said spacing and divergence conditions normally; wherein said limit means comprise stop means projecting from said structure and loop means projecting from saidplate means and stoppingly engaged with said stop means so as to allow thrusting of said plate means to decrease said spacing, only; and wherein said plate means is of shorter length than said structure length and is centered inboard thereof.

5. The combination as recited in claim 1 wherein said contact means comprises a pair of looped fiexure strips.

6. The combination as recited in claim 5 wherein said strips are comprised of polyester film material.

7. An improved wedge-shaped, collapsibly-biased card weight for use in aligning a stack of record cards arranged in a business machine, said weight comprising:

a wedge-shaped body having a prescribed mass and a base portion and a relatively thicker top portion arranged to impress a prescribed counter-pivoting moment against an engaged card-stack; contact plate means resiliently pivoted from adjacent said base portion to be normally upwardly'divergingly from said top portion, being biased to normally assume a prescribed unloaded gap spacing therefrom so as to be engageable against upper portions of said stacks for resiliently resisting pivoting forces upon said portions and thus suppressing misaligning forces imparted thereto; and spring-bias means projecting from body to resiliently couple said plate means thereto for said resilient pivoting toward said top portion and so as to prevent pivoting beyond said gap spacing.

8. In combination, an inclined card input hopper; card picker means; and an improved wedge-shaped card weight device, said hopper being inclined and operatively disposed to gravity-feed a stack of cards to said picker means; said card weight device being wedge-shaped for easy injection into, and withdrawal from, said stack and also being adapted to resiliently suppress misalignment forces, including card-pivoting forces, urging documents away from alignment with said picker means; said weight device comprising in combination:

a wedge-shaped body having a relatively thick top portion and a relatively narrow base portion; and resilient coupling means adapted to resiliently couple the top of a card stack to the depressing moment of said body and to resiliently oppose said card-pivoting forces, said coupling means including spring means projecting from said body and arranged so that said coupling means conforms to said wedge shape.

9. The combination as recited in claim 8 wherein a contact plate is attached to said spring means for planar errgagement with said card stack, said plate being coupled to said body portion to be resiliently pivotable theretowards for absorbing said bounce forces, minimizing them and so as to assume, butnot exceed, a prescribed gap spacing from said top portion.

10. In a card-feed mechanism including an input hopper for receiving cards in a stack and for gravity-urging them in prescribed alignment towards a prescribed picking plane; injection throat means arranged operatively adjacent said picking plane to pass said cards singly therethrough in prescribed alignment toward card-manipulation means; and flexible card picker means arranged operatively adjacent said picking plane and adapted for thrusting the lower-most ones of said cards from said stack singly through said throat along one of a prescribed purality of differently-bowed picking planes; the combination therewith of an improved wedge-shaped card Weight device adapted to aligningly depress such stacks in this hopper so that the lower-most stacked card is urged to assume said picking plane and to resist misaligning forces; said device comprising:

a body having a prescribed mass, relatively thick top portion and a relatively narrow base portion; and resilient contact means for engaging said body against the upper-most card in an associated stack, said contact means including fiat plate means mounted to pivot from adjacent said base portion so as to project therefrom in upward divergence to assume a prescribed gap spacing from said top portion in conformance with a prescribed wedge-shaped profile; and resilient bias means resiliently coupling said body to said contact means whereby said device may so engage the upper portions of said stack as to urge said lower-most card into said picking plane, suppressing forces which upset this aligment.

11. The combination as recited in claim wherein said resilient means comprises a pair of spring metal flexure strips attached at one end to said base portion so as to extend along a common prescribed contact plane diverging upwardly so as to accommodate said spacing; wherein pressure plate means is attached to said flexure strip so as to extend along said plane to engage said card stack relatively planarly and in conformance with said wedge-shaped profile; wherein said body and said plate means are comprised of non-metallic materials; wherein said body has a prescribed length approximating the expected card length, said body being convertible and adapted to extend said length to correspond to greater card lengths, and body also including a pair of spaced stop projections and a central recess in said one side thereof, said body further having a beveled surface along said one side thereof, adjacent said base-edge, said surface being adapted to receive said flexure strips for attachment thereon, being beveled at a prescribed angle to position said strips along said plane; wherein a weighting ballast member is mounted in said recess; wherein said plate means has a prescribed length somewhat less than said body length and is disposed centrally inboard thereof and wherein are included coupling means projecting from said plate means to engage said stop projections through slots therein so as to prevent the divergence of said plate means beyond said plane while allowing the compaction thereof towards said body against the loading bias of said flexure strips.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,928,672 3/1960 Johnson 271-61 RICHARD E. AEGERTER, Primary Examiner. 

